York Co. Deputy’s gun discharge at high school ruled accidental

Nearly a dozen York County Sheriff’s Deputies are in the process get getting new holsters following the accidental discharge of a School Resource Officer’s service weapon Monday.

At around 7:30 that morning — an hour before school started — the .40-caliber Glock 22 assigned to Deputy Dave Prescott fired into the sidewalk outside the school in an area known as ‘Cougar Plaza.’

Friday afternoon, following a week-long formal investigation into the matter, the Sheriff’s Office says Prescott’s gun fired as he was placing his keys into this gym bag– and one of those keys managed to become lodged inside his holster.

The key then snagged and bypassed a safety feature on the weapon before depressing the trigger.

Undersheriff Major Robbie Hudgins described the incident as a “freak anomaly.”

“It clearly shows that our School Resource Officer did not negligently discharge his firearm,” Hudgins said. “But rather it was truly an accidental discharge.”

“We believe his key entered into the holster, wedged in there in just a manner likely to not just activate the trigger but release a safety that is built into the trigger,” said Lt. Brian Bolan, who heads up the Sheriff’s Office training department.

Bolan said a team of investigators spent the majority of the week investigating the incident and after several hours, successfully re-enacted the incident and the circumstances leading up to the gun’s discharge.

Both Bolan and Hudgins said as a result, roughly a dozen holsters like the one Prescott used are in the process of being phased out of service. Already, some of those aged holsters have been replaced with new ones.

Prescott was assigned to York Comprehensive High School eight years ago and has prior service on the Sheriff’s Office SWAT Team.

Prescott suffered minor muzzle burns from the incident. No students were injured.

Prescott will return to service at York Comprehensive High School Sept. 3.

“They are eager to get Deputy Prescott back, ” Hudgins said. “He is well thought of at the school. They miss him dearly.”